


Ice Spikes And Everything Nice(Not)

by Lupo (LupoLight)



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Connor (Detroit: Become Human) Whump, Connor Needs A Hug, Connor-centric, Freezing, Gavin Reed Being Less of an Asshole, Gen, POV Alternating, Passing Out, Protective Parent Hank Anderson, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:01:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28258107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LupoLight/pseuds/Lupo
Summary: Written for the Android Whump Gift Exchange!There's no better way to bond than over shared hatred of something most people love. Connor figures that out as a bitching fest about snow of all things leads to a chaotic couple of frozen days, and a stronger friendship with a certain detective.
Comments: 20
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Anonymous_IDFK](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonymous_IDFK/gifts).



> Big shoutout to Nolf of the Android Whump server for arranging this! This was incredibly fun to work on, and I honestly adore the person I got to write for, so I really hope they enjoy this!
> 
> As always, if anything needs tagged, let me know in the comments!

It was quiet, snow blanketing the buildings and alleys, covering the cars parked along the road. It was quiet- and biting fucking cold.

“Go out and walk the streets he says, you’ll likely find his truck he says,” he groaned, voice rough as he pulled his coat tighter around himself. Connor stood beside him, only a sweater on over his work shirt, though Gavin could admit he looked kind of cute like that. He also blended in with the snow, only his LED and hair really giving him away.

“To be fair, Fowler meant well.” Connor’s placating tone didn’t help in the slightest, Gavin scoffing as they went past another group of people. With it only being a light snow, Gavin wasn’t too surprised by people just walking about, enjoying the earlier evening. He supposed there was a beauty in everything, but he hated the snow.

  
  


“What do people actually like about this shit,” he grumbled, kicking at a small clump of snow. “It’s cold, it makes driving hell, it hurts your eyes on bright sunny days, and all it is is water but frozen.” Connor snickered beside him, and Gavin caught him shaking his head. He had noticed the other seemed to frequently brush the snow off of himself.

As they walked along abandoned buildings, he could see alleys and green spaces where the snow just stacked. They were still cleaning up from the snowstorm several days ago in parts of the city, but it was such a weird case of juxtaposition seeing the clean sidewalks and then piles of snow against broken buildings.  _ Welcome to Detroit _ , he thought, but then turned his focus back to Connor.

“I- couldn’t tell you, detective. I don’t like the snow either. I guess you could say some bad memories attached to it, but also, the amount of accidents caused by snow and ice is unsettling. I don’t see how people can find it fun to slide around on ice knowing that it’s caused such a high percentage of deaths in the winter.” 

  
  


Hearing the spiel about deaths due to snow had Gavin laughing, because he knew it came from needing to justify his dislike at some point to someone. “I had a date once that insisted on going ice skating. I looked him in the eyes, in my heavy coat and big ass boots, and asked him if I looked like the type that does  _ anything _ gracefully. Safe to say, we didn’t date for too long.” 

Connor hummed, and a gust of wind nearly swallowed the noise. Gavin had to press closer. It was frigid and Connor was always so warm, even with what little he wore.

Lucky bastard. “North and Simon tried to get me to join them in a snowball fight with some others. They find getting hit with ice fun, and so I proceeded to use Josh as a shield.” That got Gavin to actually laugh, imagining the whole scene.

Another burst of wind sprayed soft snow off the awning of a building, hitting them, and Gavin hissed, quickly brushing himself off. Noticing Connor’s discomfort, he helped him with his head and arms, getting a small thank you. “This is fucking bullshit. Come on, no one from your case is going to be out here tonight, let’s just head back to the car.”

  
  


Connor’s nod had relief flooding through him, though he didn’t miss his smile of similar relief too. “For once you have a good idea.”

“Hey fuck you, I’m full of good ideas.”

“Of course you are.” Gavin could tell the other was just teasing, and scanning him for his reaction, so he let it go. Besides, it was… Admittedly kinda fun to just banter with the guy.

They hadn’t talked much in the year since the revolution. Apologies were exchanged, a somber conversation in the rain outside of the precinct and a promise of no more threats, but beyond that there was nothing. It was hard for Gavin to just like the person who had brought Hank back when no one else could. 

It was hard for Gavin to justify talking or interacting with a person he threatened so much, even if he apologized.

The revolution had changed a lot, and Gavin held onto his guilt despite knowing worse had happened to Connor. So he avoided Connor, but watched the guy become his own person. Even now, openly expressing his dislike for the stupid white shit, Connor was so alive. Gavin looked away, knowing the moment Hank was back from training recruits in another precinct, they’d be back to just avoiding each other.

  
  


His attention from his thoughts was thankfully broken as a girl came running up to them. “Officers!” Gavin turned first, raising an eyebrow. Sure, they both had their badges out, but he knew they didn’t look anything like officers. “Please- I need help!”

Something was off. Gavin didn’t like her tone, her gaze at them both. Perfect makeup, no snow on her shoulders. Something just wasn’t right. Connor spoke up though. “What seems to be the problem, miss?”

“My friend- we left her place and I ran back in because I forgot my purse- I came out and she was clutching her stomach and bleeding- I don’t have my phone, it’s locked in her car and hers is dead- I just saw your badges-” Connor held out his hands, and then he looked at Gavin.

Despite how much he didn’t trust this, Gavin didn’t see a reason not to trust Connor. “Your call,” he muttered, feeling his gun’s weight on his hip more distinctly. 

“We’ll come look, I’ve contacted an ambulance already.” The girl looked relieved, though Gavin couldn’t shake off the feeling. They both followed as she jogged back to an alley. 

  
  


Gavin noticed the lack of a body before he heard the car doors behind them slam shut. The girl broke out into a run, ducking into the open door of a building that one man walked out of. Immediately he recognized the tattoos on all their faces. His open case back at the station, the one he was working on before helping Connor, featured this tattoo on nearly every photo- it was a gang.

Connor’s arm reached out, and they both stood there. Gavin noticed a lack of guns but not a lack of steel, seeing knuckle dusters on one man’s hands and a knife in another. But that was all he could see before he had to draw his gun. He aimed for the guy with a knife, advancing on the two of them, but then was roughly pushed to the side.

About to cuss out Connor for the shove, his eyes widened as a  _ large _ icicle spike connected with the back of Connor’s neck. A vicious fragment that would’ve nailed Gavin in the head, and ended him. Now Connor’s body went stiff, like he was shocked, before he crumpled, blue blood leaking into a snow drift along the building.

  
  


Gavin refocused his gun on the guy closest, and he fired, the noise breaking the silence and ringing through the alley. He briefly heard another guy curse, and turned after the one in front of him fell, clutching his stomach. “Put your hands up-” he didn’t get to finish his thought as both guys ducked back into their car.

Running out of the alley, he aimed at the tires and fired, but the wind was against him, bullets hitting the road harmlessly and the car getting away. At the very least, he caught the last three characters of his license plate, quickly scrawling them on his wrist before running back to Connor.

The man  _ still _ hadn’t gotten back up, and Gavin would deny that it filled him with worry. He picked the other up gently, glad for the sirens already on their way. “Connor- Connor you still with me dipshit?”

  
  


He got a groan for an answer, the doe-eyed bastard looking at him and nodding, though he winced. Connor’s hand was- unusually cold. It was unlike him kind of cold- because Connor, even before, radiated warmth. Gavin chalked it up to literally collapsing into a snowbank though. “Could be doing better, that was unpleasant.”

“I fucking bet,” Gavin kept a hand on his, calling in everything that just happened so the ambulance knew what to expect. Then he looked to Connor again, suddenly absorbing what had happened, “You fucking saved me there, I- thanks.” Gavin was still a bit breathless from that.

If Connor hadn’t pushed him, he’d be bleeding out in the alley. The fear of it still gripped him, though he kept repeating that he wasn’t alone in his head. “I had an eighty-six percent chance of you being fatally injured versus a forty-three percent chance of me being temporarily injured. I didn’t want to see you dead, so I rolled the dice.”

  
  


Gavin shivered at hearing the numbers, but then couldn’t stand his hands. He took off his own gloves and shoved Connor’s hands into them, much to the other’s confusion. “You’re fucking cold for once, you need these more than me. You gonna get checked out by the tech?”

Connor shook his head, and Gavin saw him feel his neck. “It’s already closed up, I’ll be fine.” Gavin nodded, not about to hound him, and together they made sure their perpetrator, downed by Gavin’s shot, stayed alive for the ambulance. Gavin knew this was a lot of paperwork, but he knew it was worth it.

They searched for the girl, but the building she ducked into was abandoned and empty, another door in the back left open. Cutting their losses, Gavin assured Connor he’d take care of the report. “You got knocked in the head, just- take it easy when we get back or something.”

  
  


The rest of the day went pretty smoothly. Gavin got their paperwork done, someone else spotted Connor’s suspect, and they were in the process of getting a warrant for the house he was heading into. The next day Connor would be able to wrap that all up, and Gavin would be able to make some more progress on his own case. 

“Have a good one Connor.” The words were quiet, Connor just nodding slowly. Gavin noticed that his LED was an angry yellow, spinning fast, but Connor was probably just in thought. He started to walk away, but paused. “And uh,” he started, looking over his shoulder as he rubbed at his nose.

“Thank you again, for everything. You’re… Not that bad. For a golden boy.” He expected a snicker, or something snarky, but there was no reply. The sinking lead feeling of his own brain going  _ ‘I told you so’ _ was unpleasant, Connor’s lack of response unusual, but he chose to ignore it and he blared his music as he went home.


	2. Chapter 2

Cold. Everything was so, so cold. Even as he curled in bed, under all the blankets he could find, he was so bitterly cold. The garage had long been transformed into his own room, and everything was always toasty in here, but right now, he was  _ freezing _ .

Connor didn’t understand why, even as he came out of stasis, parts of him stiff and locked up. He got dressed in the heaviest clothes he owned, appropriate for work, and even threw on a jacket while inside, but nothing helped. Even the gloves he’d forgotten to return didn’t do much.

Of course Hank noticed, but not even he could figure out why Connor felt so cold. “Maybe you just need a warm bath after work? You were covered in snow, maybe it just takes longer for your parts to heat back up and all that.” It sounded logical enough, and they both enjoyed their hot drinks as they made their way back to the precinct.

  
  


Hank dropped him off, the Lieutenant only due to come in later during his shift, if everything went the way it was supposed to with the training the man was conducting. So Connor didn’t worry him by asking again why his body wasn’t warming up, or letting Hank see the way his body locked up  _ again _ as he got out of the car. 

“Take it easy Connor- I know they are still getting that warrant processed. Tell Reed if he gives you any shit I’ll kick his ass!”

Connor didn’t doubt that, though Reed hadn’t ‘given him shit’ in a long time. Connor doubted he would, especially as he rubbed his gloved hands. “I will- take it easy I mean. Don’t give the rookies too much trouble.” He heard Hank’s laugh before he got out, and took a breath before walking into the precinct. 

Everything felt sluggish and slow, and he could’ve sworn that his thirium felt like frigid syrup running through him, rather than the normal pulse of blood. His body, still programmed to mimic human behavior, even took to shivering at the cold. He sat down, trying to find which program it was to disable that, when a warm hand was on his shoulder.

  
  


“Morning tincan, you good?” Looking up, Gavin’s face was curious, though his eyes were zoned in on the little curl of hair that still stuck out on Connor’s forehead. It took an embarrassing amount of time to realize his shivering was making that curl bounce pronouncedly, and giving him away.

“Just a bit cold, that’s all. Is something the matter detective?” Gavin paused, eyes meeting his for a second before shaking his head.

“Nothing’s wrong I just- here.” A cup was placed in front of Connor, and he could smell the slightly-off scent of chocolate made from thirium, and even through his, or rather Gavin’s, gloves he could feel the heat. “I guess this is a formal thanks, for everything yesterday”

  
  


Special thirium made items weren’t exactly easy to get. You had to go through a Jericho run business, which often sold out, or you had to do it yourself, which required a lot of cleanup. So he knew whichever way Gavin procured this for him, it took effort. And it smelled really good. “You didn’t have to- I would’ve done that for anyone.”

“Yeah well, you did it for me and- look I’m not too good at this shit, so I’m just- going to go interview that fucko that smashed ya.” Connor laughed at that, noticing now how Gavin refused to look at him, pulling away and stuffing his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket.

Connor took a sip, feeling the heat rush through him like lava and welcoming it. “Thank you for this. Give him a hard time for me?”

“You bet.” He watched the briefest smile grace the detective’s face before he moved away. For a bit, Connor did nothing but enjoy the drink. Background processes ran on paperwork, and he noticed with a small start that Gavin completely handled all of the paperwork from yesterday.

  
  


Things had definitely changed between them since the revolution, and while they weren’t on the friendliest terms, and Gavin still gave him- and more so Hank- shit… Connor could see where the other was trying. He was almost warmed by the thought that he was able to see another person change, even if it took a little bit longer. 

Sadly, the cup wasn’t bottomless. Connor felt the warmth for a little bit, but as time passed, he felt bitter cold again. It wasn’t helped when he had to go outside to help escort a suspect in, one officer punched out during the struggle to get the felon inside. He was left shivering, with processors taking even longer than before. Stalling, lagging. Something was wrong, but he couldn’t even complete a self-scan.

“Connor?” Gavin’s voice spooked him a bit, and he realized now his eyes were unfocused as they stared at his blank terminal. “You sure you’re alright?”

  
  


Yet, Connor didn’t want to worry anyone. “Just cold. I think the hit wore me out more than I’d like to admit.” 

Gavin frowned, and he was pretty sure that was a mission failed. The back of his hand rested on Connor’s forehead and Gavin hissed.

“You’re fucking freezing- you should take the day off.” There wasn’t even a playful name after it. Connor knew the other was right, but before the conversation could continue, Hank came in.

“Reed! You better not be giving Connor a hard time,” his rough voice had Connor smiling for a moment, and Gavin’s attention went to him.

“Surprise surprise old man, we haven’t fought once so hah.” Connor wasn’t going to comment how silly Gavin looked sticking his tongue out- he knew the other was aware of that when he couldn’t stop himself from grinning after.

  
  


Hank moved Gavin out of the way, the man standing off to the side now, and Connor felt his hair ruffled after a moment. “Well I’ll be damned, you two can get along. I thought I’d come back to the DPD on fire.” Gavin huffed, and Connor tried to roll his eyes but even that felt sluggish.

“Don’t worry, we’re mostly adults,” he responded instead, and caught Gavin’s grin.

“ _ Mostly _ , he says. Well, I’m back, so both of you get to work. Connor, can you update me on the case?”

That was something he could manage, watching Hank sit down and starting to fill him in on yesterday and today. He noticed that Gavin hovered, remaining standing, but he knew that he was waiting on evidence too.

  
  


Everything was fine. Well, relatively. He still felt everything slowing and slowing. Like slushie replaced his blood now. Then he had to get up and get- something- for Hank. Reviewing the request, he processed it was something from the breakroom.

It was one of the last things he processed, as error after error of programs shutting down hit him. It was like the mind palace all over again, fighting the snow, the frozen limbs. He was terrified, stuck between reality and then. He fell forward, just somewhat tipping, and expected to meet ground. Whether it was icy ground or the floor of the precinct his head couldn’t tell.

Instead he hit something a bit squishier, opening his eyes lazily to see Gavin’s chest. The man’s arms were around him, and soon his coat was too. If anything was said to him, he didn’t register it, vaguely recalling the sound of wind.

**[Emergency Stasis Alert. Emergency Stasis Alert. Emergency Stasi-]**

Like that, everything faded to black.  


* * *

He knew, he  _ knew _ something wasn’t right. With nothing better to do than wait around for evidence to pop up, or a hit on the APBs, Gavin stood somewhat close by to Connor and Hank, conversing with Chris while the man waited for another call. His eyes flickered to the two every so often, even as they fell into silence. Hank’s face was pinched in that ‘thinking’ look he always had as he was reviewing the case, but Connor…

Connor wasn’t himself. The normally animated man was just- sitting there- stiff as a statue. When Connor got up, he immediately noticed how slow he was to rise. Normally, not that he watched him in particular but he wasn’t a detective for no reason, normally Connor got up with a spring in his step. The man liked being active.

He knew something wasn’t right, and he saw the fall coming from a mile away as Connor’s LED blared a warning red, and then  _ blinked _ . He moved, rushing to catch the other before he hit ground. “Connor!” Hank was the first one up after him, and Gavin shivered.

  
  


Gavin remembered being in a  _ ‘Chloe Pile’ _ , as Elijah dubbed it, with several girls and him cuddled on the couch watching some horror movie. Every girl had been warm and, while stiff at the time because they weren’t used to deviancy, they weren’t freezing cold.

Connor was like dry ice- he could feel how cold he was through his shirt. “What the fuck is wrong with him?” Gavin wrapped his coat around him but shook his head.  


“I don’t fucking know- go get the technician,  _ now _ . He’s cold as fuck.” For once the old man listened to him, just nodding and running. There was a repair center right down the road. It would take Hank minutes to get someone.

  
  


Minutes were too much. “Chris- grab every heat pack from the breakroom. Ben, take my wallet, buy every one of those Heatmax packs from the vending machines and bring them up. Tina- get some thirium hot. We need to warm him up.” Gavin sat down, noticing even Fowler was out of his office, but he didn’t let go. His own body hated the cold but hopefully it was helping the other.

Not even a minute passed before Chris was plugging them in, and Gavin stuffed heat packs everywhere he could. Thankfully he didn’t have to worry about burning Connor right now. Tina was next, and Gavin carefully poured some in the other’s mouth, a little bit at a time.

The brief idea if androids could choke hit him before he remembered they didn’t even need to breathe. So he kept going, only pausing to help place and activate all the heat packs Ben brought over. It was only mildly embarrassing to stuff some in Connor’s pants, but he did, and soon the man was covered in heat.

  
  


Only when Connor didn’t feel like a walking droid-sicle did Gavin set him up to sit, noticing the yellow in his red now. No blinking, just spinning slowly. It had to have been helping, and he willed his heart to calm down. “Ben you watch him, lemme know if his LED starts blinking again.” He got a nod in return, and moved to the breakroom, noticing Fowler followed him.

Updating him on what happened, he didn’t expect to hear much, if anything, from the captain. Which was why his eyes widened a bit as the other spoke. “I’ll have Hank keep me updated- you did good there.” He could only nod slowly, the man walking away, and focused on chugging his own drink now.

Hank came in only a few minutes later, a frazzled technician following him with his whole kit. Gavin watched for a moment as the technician started to work on Connor, but then informed Fowler over message that he was going to head out. Hank had this, and he didn’t want to be here long enough for Connor to realize he got  _ worried _ over his dumb ass.

Chris stopped him for a moment. “Not going to stick around?” 

“Naw, you guys got this. See you tomorrow, he’ll be fine.” Chris huffed, eyebrows knitted but didn’t stop him.

He fucking hated the cold.


	3. Chapter 3

When his eyes opened again, he immediately noticed the biggest difference. He was warm. Finally. Or at least, his outmost areas were. Connor also noticed he was wrapped in a blanket with more heat packs on him than clothes at this point, and he was resting against Hank.

“Finally, you’re awake. You scared the shit out of me kid.” Hank’s rough voice didn’t match the softness of the blanket, it had to be a new one too. It didn’t smell like Sumo.

“I- don’t exactly know what happened,” he admitted, looking around now. A few officers were milling about, Chris and some of the android officers, and there was a technician there too, waiting patiently. “Could you explain?”

  
  


The tech nodded, pulling out his tablet for them both to look at. “You see this bit located between your shoulders, behind your thirium pump regulator? That is your internal temperature regulator- at some point, you completely fried it too fast for your system to recognize there was a problem.”

Connor thought back to when he got smashed with ice, wincing a bit. “I could think of a way.”

“Well, thanks to that, your system started to slowly freeze, unable to generate warmth or maintain it. If people hadn’t rushed to get you heated up, you might have frozen completely and lost several parts. This- could’ve been a lot worse.”

  
  


Hank spoke then, and Connor caught the confused tone in his voice as his attention turned to Chris. “Speaking of- how did you all figure out to get Connor warmed up? I left and he definitely wasn’t bundled up like this.”

No one spoke for a moment, but Chris broke the silence with a shrug. “Reed told us to. Started barking out orders- gave Ben his wallet for the hand warming packs- and he got warmed thirium into Connor before an android took over. He ducked out of here a bit ago though.” Connor smiled a bit, thinking of the other doing all that for him.

“Did he now… Huh.” Hank’s voice sounded thoughtful, but Connor focused on the technician.

“What now?”

  
  


The man pointed at his internal temperature reading on the tablet, which was still uncomfortably low. “Go home and warm up. You’ll likely need to spend all night doing so. I’d recommend a hot bath, some warm drinks, and heat packs until you get to a regular temperature.” Connor nodded, already filing the request to find out he was to head home anyways. 

“Will do. Thank you for your help.”

“Hey no problem, literally my job. I’m going to be heading out now, take it easy getting home.” The technician stood up, gathering his things, and Connor went to do the same. Hank was determined to help him, an arm around his back, and Connor didn’t mind. He didn’t feel stiff like before, but Hank was warm and he soaked up the heat, especially as he had to give the plugged in heating packs back.

  
  


Everyone called out good night, and Connor was almost upset when Gavin didn’t show back up. He was determined now to thank him tomorrow. And figure out how he knew what to do when Connor didn’t. But that was tomorrow’s problem.

Tonight, Hank made sure the first thing he did was get in the tub. Connor could smell tea from over the bathtub, and relaxed a little deeper into the hot water, watching his temperature go up and up. When he got out, he dressed in his heaviest pjs and grabbed a blanket to wrap around him. 

Immediately, he noticed the Nintendo had been launched with one of his favorite games to relax with, and couldn’t help but smile, settling onto the couch. A heating pack was close by too, and he turned it on, pressing it against his stomach before just laying there for a few moments. Sumo took his spot on the middle of the couch, laying his head on Connor’s leg and for some moments, Connor just enjoyed the warmth.

  
  


Then Hank brought out a cup of tea for him and a plate of leftovers for himself. “Figured you’d get bored just sitting there heating up, so I booted this for ya.”

“Thank you, but are you sure? There’s no game on or anything?”

“A fishing tournament, but those aren’t as fun to watch as they actually are to do.” Hank shrugged, kicking out his recliner. He had changed into some sleep pants and an old shirt. The little dog slippers Connor got him for the holidays reminded him to pet the one beside him.

“Don’t you have one of those coming up?”

“Next weekend, Fowler already gave me the time off. Figuring you’d enjoy having the place to yourself. You know the rules though-”

“I know I know,  _ Hank _ , if I throw a party, I have to clean up. And no one uses your room for a resting place.” Not that Connor ever threw a party. He imagined it was just the rule for people, when you lived together, like this.

  
  


Like a family. The way he said  _ Hank _ was definitely mimicking the movies they watched where kids would drag out the  _ dad _ like it was a bother. But the fact was, Connor was never happier than when Hank said  _ son _ again, without the fear in his voice, as Connor came home, wet as hell, with a puppy in his arms. They found the pup’s original owner, but that didn’t make the warm feeling go away.

“Exactly. Have fun though, I’ll message you when I can. For now though, isn’t there some dog-person you wanted on your island or whatever?” Hank never was big into video games, but after hearing Gavin and Chris talking about this one, he managed to get his hands on it. And it was surprisingly fun, just as much as puzzles or tracking someone down was for him.

  
  


The rest of the night was spent talking and playing. Hank rambled about the tournament, what all he was taking, what he had to fix on the boat to get it running. And Connor offered some tips for things to take with him, some that stuck and some that the other brushed off. Occasionally, there was a pause as Connor kept trying to get something, only to pass out or fail. Or an actual laugh as Connor got annoyed with catching the same fish nine times in a row.

But it was a nice night. The heat pack was moved around, and he happily informed Hank of when he reached optimal running temperature. There was a soft ruffle of hair as Hank got up. “Good, then I’m going to head to bed. You want Sumo tonight?” 

Connor shook his head, turning off the system and TV. “No, you can have him. I’m going to turn in too, smooth out any errors in my stasis and review case files that I missed. Night, Hank.”

“Night kid.” 


	4. Chapter 4

Going in that morning, Connor felt significantly better. Sure, he bundled up a good bit more than normal, actually wearing a scarf and coat, along with Gavin’s gloves, but he felt good. He could feel the cold outside, but it didn’t seep into him like before. 

“I’m going to grab a coffee,” Hank mumbled, rubbing his hands together the minute they stepped into the bullpen.

“Alright. I’ll be over-” he paused, looking at Gavin’s desk. He sat there, unbothered by the noise around him, fingers flying over the keyboard and two empty coffee cups beside him. A quick scan revealed one was just recently emptied, and he checked to see when Gavin clocked in. Two hours early. He reasoned that the other must’ve gotten a warrant in and was already done with it, and that he was doing the paperwork.

“I’ll be by our desks.” 

“Yeah yeah.” They parted, Connor not too bothered by Hank’s normal morning attitude, and he went over to Gavin’s desk. The other didn’t even notice him until he sat on the edge of it, effectively spooking him a bit if the sudden jump in his heart rate was a good indicator.

  
  


“Fucking hell tincan- morning to you too.”

“Good morning Detective Reed. Still stupidly cold outside.” That got a scoff, Gavin rubbing at his face, successfully distracted from paperwork for the moment as he pushed his chair back to face Connor. And to think, months ago, he just would’ve pushed Connor off his desk.

“Yeah it fucking is. Had to put my windows down because I didn’t warm my car up beforehand, so I felt it all the way here.” For a moment, Gavin’s eyes ran over him, and Connor almost felt heat rise to his face. “You look better, not shivering and shit. Everything good?” Connor needed to stop underestimating him, not realizing even Gavin had noticed the shivering.

“Thanks to you. Someone said you were the one to get everyone in gear when I fell over.” That got Gavin to glare to Chris’s desk, and he wondered if Gavin knew he squealed or just assumed.

“Yeah well, don’t mention it. It was the least I could do, since you got that rough saving my ass and all.”

  
  


Now Gavin turned away, and Connor couldn’t describe how his voice was there. Quiet, but not quite embarrassed. There was nothing to be ashamed about either- he couldn’t figure it out. Typing resumed, much slower, and Connor was fumbling for words.

He wanted to see Gavin be like that again. Kind. Wanted to banter with him more, and make fun of snow. See what the  _ friendly _ Gavin he caught a glimpse of was like.

Ask why in the hell his  _ gloves _ even smelled like coffee. And return his gloves. Before he could figure out the words though, two hands gently  _ thwapped _ the both of their heads, in a style that was reminiscent of an old TV show character. “Just ask him to hang out already, you two are turning the bullpen into a primetime TV show.”

  
  


That got Gavin to snort loudly, before starting a laugh fit. It made his face so much more pleasant to look at for some reason, and Connor wanted to cause that once. See it for himself. He could see the little spark in his eyes as he got ready to retort, Hank sitting down at his own desk. 

“Actually, that sounds like a great idea, Lieutenant,” Connor started, grinning at Gavin as he got his attention.

“Gavin, would you like to come over tonight and hang out?”

“Wait- what? No, Connor I didn’t mean-”

Gavin cut Hank off, grinning equally as feral. “Sure, why not. Have you ever seen the movie  _ Venom _ ?” Connor shook his head, taking off the other’s gloves and handing them back as Hank groaned.

“No, but I’d love to.”

It was going to be a fun night.


End file.
